Denver Broncos:
The Broncos caught a
piece of bad luck, ala Jacksonville, already by losing 3rd round
pick TE Jeff Hauerman for the year with a torn ACL. He was inked in as a
replace for TE Julius Thomas. The Broncos are deep at WR but Peyton Manning
loves throwing to his tight ends. They did sign TE Owen Daniels after he spent
a year in Baltimore, which surprised no one since it must be a separate
contract that has him permanently tethered to coach Gary Kubiak. He has been a
bit injury-prone as he ages but he is the best that Peyton will have for now.
The Broncos did pull a
shocker with their 1st round pick by selecting marijuana fan DE
Shane Ray from Missouri. If his lack of intelligence during the days leading up
to the draft was temporary insanity, this was a huge steal and will bolster the
Broncos solid pass rush this year. The Broncos focused much more on the run
last year than they did in any year with Peyton and it proved successful. So,
to help that aspect and to help keep Peyton off his aged back, they added OT Ty
Sambrailo from Colorado St and C Max Garcia from Florida.
Fantasy starters: QB Peyton Manning, RB
C.J. Anderson, WR Demarius Thomas, WR Emmanual Sanders
Fantasy bench: RB Montee Ball, TE Owen
Daniels, Denver D
Fantasy Sleeper: WR Cody Latimer
San Diego Chargers:
I liked the Chargers
choice of RB Ryan Mathews in 2010 but I didn’t expect him to have the issues he
has had staying healthy. As a Big Ten guy, I really like their choice this year
of RB Melvin Gordon from Wisconsin. They may not have needed to trade up to get
him, but there was no reason to take any chances when you know that he will be
The Man in their backfield. He doesn’t catch a lot of passes so Danny Woodhead
will see his normal workload. I don’t understand the Chargers management’s
interest in moving to LA, but these guys don’t become billionaires by caring
about more than how they can squeeze the most dollars from the lil’ guy.
While the talk of
moving prompted QB Philip Rivers to voice his displeasure, ownership made the
right decision to not trade him. I expect a lot of improvement on that side of
the ball this year with Gordon toting the rock. On defense, they still have
some work to do, but adding LB Denzel Perryman from Miami was a solid step in the
right direction. Additions of CB Craig Mager and LB Kyle Emanuel with the next
2 picks were decent and showed that San Diego is not so into itself that it
couldn’t find San Marcos, TX and Fargo ND on a map.
Fantasy starters: QB Philip Rivers, RB Melvin
Gordon, WR Keenan Allen, TE Antonio Gates
Fantasy bench: WR Malcom Floyd
Fantasy Sleeper: TE Ladarius Green
Kansas City Chiefs:
The Chiefs had the
most laughable group of WRs outside of Cleveland in the league last year. Yes,
they had zero TD receptions but they still had more talent than Cleveland did.
However, it was time to start anew there. They started by adding WR Jeremy
Maclin in free agency. That is an infinite improvement over their flaccid group
from last year but they also added WR Chris Conley from Georgia in the 3rd
round. I like his chances to make a major contribution in 2015 due to his
size. At 6’2” 213, he is the
anti-Maclin. With those pieces in place and a solid running game, they turned
to defense and nicely plugged holes. Getting CB Marcus Peters from Washington
was a top-notch selection. He is aggressive, but if that can be reined in and
aligned with the NFL’s garbage rules to allow WRs have free roam, he has great
upside. That aggressiveness may have played a big part in his early dismissal
from Washington but I think he grows up and into his role this season.
Fantasy starters: RB Jamaal Charles, WR
Jeremy Maclin
Fantasy bench: QB Alex Smith, RB Knile
Davis, TE Travis Kelce
Fantasy Sleeper: WR Chris Conley
Oakland Raiders:
After looking like
they may end up winless last season, the Raiders put together a nice ending
stretch that gave them a bit of spark heading into 2015. Landing stud WR Amari
Cooper with their first pick only fanned that spark into a nice fire. QB Derek
Carr seemed to “get it” late last season and having Cooper to throw to will
accelerate his progression into a true NFL QB. After years of laughable 1st
round picks on wide receivers, the Raiders struck gold with this one. After
that, the Raiders used their remaining nine picks on positions across the
board. There are no real standouts in the group, but they sure did favor the
three major Florida universities as five of those nine picks came from those
schools.
If RB Latavius Murray
proves that he can carry the load for a full season, the offense will be
greatly improved. In addition to Cooper, the Raiders picked up WR Michael
Crabtree. On defense, the Raiders spent some money on LBs Malcolm Smith and
Curtis Lofton as well as DT Dan Williams. The Raiders are definitely a team on
the rise and will not be the laughingstock that they have been for a number of
years.
Fantasy starters: RB Latavius Murray,
WR Amari Cooper
Fantasy bench: QB Derek Carr
Fantasy Sleeper: WR Chris Conley
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